Teeth cleaning device

ABSTRACT

The present invention enables a person to brush and floss his/her teeth using a single device. The present invention comprises a handle having two ends, a dental floss support near one end of the handle for holding dental floss for flossing teeth, and bristles near the other end of the handle for brushing teeth. The dental floss support is removable from the handle and can be secured onto the handle in a parallel position with the handle when not in use.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/886,356, filed on Oct. 3, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a teeth cleaning device and more specifically relates to a device that can be used to brush and floss teeth.

2. Description of the Related Art

Various types of teeth cleaning devices for tooth brushing and dental flossing have been invented and produced, such as a dental flosser U.S. Pat. No. 8,555,901 and a toothbrush U.S. Patent D687,228. However, most teeth cleaning devices have either only tooth brushing function or only tooth flossing function. This makes thorough teeth cleaning not very convenient. To solve the problem, various inventions have been invented such as U.S. Patent D556,455 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,167. However, these inventions have several drawbacks. They either significantly increase manufacturing cost or are not very easy to use. Therefore, there is a need for inventing a new teeth cleaning device that not only integrates both tooth brushing and dental flossing functions into a single device, but also easy to fabricate and to use. The present invention is invented for this reason.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention integrates two functions, tooth brushing and dental flossing, into a single device. It enables a person to brush and floss his/her teeth using a single device. The present invention comprises a handle having two ends, a dental floss support near one end of the handle for holding dental floss for flossing teeth, and bristles near the other end of the handle for brushing teeth. The dental floss support can be removed from the handle and also can be mounted on the handle in various directions for easy flossing all teeth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-7 are for one preferred embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention with a dental floss support in its open position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention with the dental floss support in its close position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the present invention with the dental floss support removed from the handle.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one end of the handle of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the dental floss support of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is another perspective view of the present invention with a dental floss support in its open position.

FIG. 7 is another perspective view of the present invention with a dental floss support in its open position.

FIGS. 8-14 are for another preferred embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the present invention with a dental floss support in its open position.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the present invention with the dental floss support in its close position.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the present invention with the dental floss support removed from the handle.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of one end of the handle of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the dental floss support of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is another perspective view of the present invention with a dental floss support in its open position.

FIG. 14 is another perspective view of the present invention with a dental floss support in its open position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a handle having two ends, a dental floss support near one end of the handle for holding dental floss for flossing teeth, and bristles near the other end of the handle for brushing teeth. The dental floss support is removable from the handle and can be secured onto the handle in a parallel position with the handle when not in use. The present invention enables a person to brush and floss his/her teeth using a single device.

Preferred Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Bristles 20 are located near one end 11 of the handle 10. A dental floss support 30 is located near the other end 12 of the handle 10. The shape of the dental floss support 30 is like a letter U with a recess 32 on each distal end of the support 30. When using the present invention to floss teeth, a person wraps one end of dental floss 100 around an extruded structure 60 on the handle 10, pulls the dental floss 100 across the dental floss support 30 through the recesses 32 s, and then wraps the other end of the dental floss 100 around the extruded structure 60 again to secure the dental floss 100 on the dental floss support 30. After flossing teeth, the person unwraps the dental floss 100 from the extruded structure 60, removes the dental floss support 30 from the handle 10, and places the dental floss support 30 into the recess 50 on the handle 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention when the dental floss support 30 is placed into the recess 50 on the handle 10. With the dental floss support 30 being removed from the handle 10 or placed into the recess 50, a person can use the present invention as a toothbrush to brush his/her teeth.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the present invention when the dental floss support 30 is removed from the recess 40. With the dental floss support 30 being removed from the recess 40, a person can also use the present invention as a toothbrush. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the end 12 of the handle 10 (FIG. 2). From the figure, it can be seen that the recess 40 used to confine the dental floss support 30 on the handle 10 is a T shaped recess. FIG. 4 also shows details of the extruded structure 60. The extruded structure 60 comprises two parts: a small pole 62 connecting directly to the handle 10 (FIG. 2) and a head 64 on the top of the pole 62. The diameter of the pole 62 is smaller than the diameter of the head 64. The height of the pole 62 is very small, about 1 mm. When mounting a dental floss 100 onto the dental support 30 (FIG. 1), a person rotates one end of the dental floss 100 around the pole 62 several times, pulls the dental floss 100 across the recesses 32 s (FIG. 1), and then tightly rotates the other end of the dental floss 100 around the pole 62 several times again. Since the height of the pole 62 is very small, the dental floss 100 is squeezed into a small space. The friction among the dental floss prevents the dental floss from becoming loose during flossing teeth.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the dental floss support 30. The dental floss support 30 is a U-shaped structure with a pentagonal pole 35 and a pentagonal head 36 on the bottom. The pole 35 is directly attached with the bottom surface 34, and the head 36 is on the top of the pole 35. At the distal end of each arm 33, there is a recess 32. To mount the dental floss support 30 on the handle 10 (FIG. 3), all a person needs to do is to push the pentagonal pole 35 and the pentagonal head 36 into the T-shaped recess 40 (FIG. 4). The pentagonal pole and head enable the dental floss support 30 to be mounted on the handle 10 in different directions as shown in FIG. 6. By mounting the dental floss support 30 on the handle 10 in different directions, a person can floss his/her teeth from his/her preferred angles.

The recess 50 shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is used to store the dental floss support 30 when it is not in use. The present invention is still functional without the recess 50. This is illustrated in FIG. 7.

Preferred Embodiment 2

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention. Bristles 20 are located near one end 11 of the handle 10. A dental floss support 30 is located near the other end 12 of the handle 10. The shape of the dental floss support 30 is like a letter U with a recess 32 on each distal end of the U. When using the present invention to floss teeth, a person wraps one end of dental floss 100 around an extruded structure 60 on the handle 10, pulls the dental floss 100 across the dental floss support 30 through the recesses 32 s, and then wraps the other end of the dental floss 100 around the extruded structure 60 again to secure the dental floss 100 on the dental floss support 30. After flossing teeth, the person unwraps the dental floss 100 from the extruded structure 60, removes the dental floss support 30 from the handle 10, and places the dental floss support 30 into the recess 50 on the handle 10 as shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the present invention when the dental floss support 30 is placed into the recess 50 on the handle 10. With the dental floss support 30 being removed from the handle 10 or placed into the recess 50, a person can use the present invention as a toothbrush to brush his/her teeth.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the present invention when the dental floss support 30 is removed from the recess 70. With the dental floss support 30 being removed from the recess 70, a person can also use the present invention as a toothbrush. FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of the end 12 of the handle 10. From the figure, it can be seen that the recess 70 used to confine the dental floss support 30 upright on the handle 10 (FIG. 8) is a pentagonal recess. FIG. 11 also shows details of the extruded structure 60. The extruded structure 60 comprises two parts: a small pole 62 connecting directly to the end 12 of the handle 10 and a head 64 on the top of the pole 62. The diameter of the pole 62 is smaller than the diameter of the head 64. The height of the pole 62 is very small, about 1 mm. When mounting a dental floss 100 onto the dental support 30 (FIG. 8), a person rotates one end of the dental floss 100 around the pole 62 several times (FIG. 11), pulls the dental floss across the recesses 32 s (FIG. 8), and then tightly rotates the other end of the dental floss 100 (FIG. 8) around the pole 62 several times again (FIG. 11). Since the height of the pole 62 is very small, the dental floss 100 is squeezed into a small space. The friction among the dental floss 100 prevents the dental floss 100 from becoming loose during flossing teeth.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the dental floss support 30. The dental floss support 30 is a U-shaped structure with a pentagonal pole 38 in contact with the bottom surface 34 of the U shape. At the distal end of each arm 33, there is a recess 32. To mount the dental floss support 30 on the handle 10 (FIG. 10), all a person needs to do is to push the pentagonal pole 38 into the recess 70. The pentagonal recess 70 and the pentagonal pole 38 enable the dental floss support 30 to be mounted on the handle 10 in different directions as shown in FIG. 13. By mounting the dental floss support 30 on the handle 10 in different directions, a person can floss his/her teeth from his/her preferred angles.

The recess 50 shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 10, FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is used to store the dental floss support 30 when it is not in use. The present invention is still functional without the recess 50. This is illustrated in FIG. 14

The above embodiments are presented for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Other modifications can be undertaken by a skilled artisan without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

For example, the cross-sections of the recess 40 shown in FIG. 4 and the recess 70 shown in FIG. 11 can be any shape, such as polygon, round, crisscross, etc. The cross-sections of pole 35 shown in FIG. 5 and pole 38 shown in FIG. 12 do not have to be pentagonal. They can be any shape, such as polygon, round, crisscross, etc. The head 36 shown in FIG. 5 does not have to be pentagonal. It can be any shape. 

1. A teeth cleaning device comprising a handle having two ends, an object having at least two arms near one end of the handle, and bristles near the other end of the handle.
 2. The teeth cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said object has at least one recess at each distal end of said arms.
 3. The teeth cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said object has a pole at the bottom of the object.
 4. The teeth cleaning device of claim 3 wherein the shape of the cross-section of said pole can be polygon, or round, or, crisscross.
 5. The teeth cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said object is removable from said handle.
 6. The teeth cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said handle has at least one recess near one end of the handle for holding said object upright.
 7. The teeth cleaning device of claim 6 wherein the shape of the cross-section of said recess can be polygonal, or round, or crisscross.
 8. The teeth cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said handle has at least one recess for holding said object to an about parallel position with the handle.
 9. The teeth cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said handle has an extruded structure near one end of the handle.
 10. The teeth cleaning device of claim 9 wherein said extruded structure comprises a rod in direct contact with said handle and a head on the top of the rod.
 11. A teeth cleaning device comprising a handle having two ends, an object having at least two arms near one end of the handle, and bristles near the other end of the handle.
 12. The teeth cleaning device of claim 11 wherein said object has at least one recess at each distal end of said arms.
 13. The teeth cleaning device of claim 11 wherein said object has an extruded structure at the bottom of the object, which comprises a rod in direct contact with the bottom of the object and a head on the top of the rod.
 14. The teeth cleaning device of claim 13 wherein the shapes of the cross-section of said rod and said head can be polygon, or round, or crisscross.
 15. The teeth cleaning device of claim 11 wherein said object is removable from said handle.
 16. The teeth cleaning device of claim 11 wherein said handle has at least one recess at one end of the handle for holding said object upright.
 17. The teeth cleaning device of claim 16 wherein the cross-section of said recess can be either polygonal, or round, or crisscross.
 18. The teeth cleaning device of claim 11 wherein said handle has at least one recess for holding said object to an about parallel position with the handle.
 19. The teeth cleaning device of claim 11 wherein said handle has an extruded structure near one end of the handle.
 20. The teeth cleaning device of claim 19 wherein said extruded structure comprises a rod in direct contact with said handle and a head on the top of the rod. 